Looking for information on Biavaschi or Monteferario families
from Chiavenna/Sondrio area. My great grandfather was
Giovanland Biavaschi and great grandmother Augustina Monteferario Biavaschi. He settled in Socorro, NM and she went back to Italy. They
had a son Joseph Biavaschi in about 1895(8) in NM. Any information
or how to search would be appreciated.
Bob Homrich

Note: the census is from ancestry.com a subscription site
It can accessed at your local Family History Library
for free and is available at some libraries.
To get you started:
The Family Search Site also has some excellent
free databases on line
And, the USGenWeb has some outstanding
free resources organized by state.

homrichrj wrote:Looking for information on Biavaschi or Monteferario familiesfrom Chiavenna/Sondrio area. My great grandfather wasGiovanland Biavaschi and great grandmother Augustina Monteferario Biavaschi. He settled in Socorro, NM and she went back to Italy. Theyhad a son Joseph Biavaschi in about 1895(8) in NM. Any informationor how to search would be appreciated.Bob Homrich

homrichrj:
I live in Socorro, NM and write monthly history articles for the local newspaper. I have some information on the Biavaschi's. The Biavaschi, Gianera, Bianchi, del Curto, and Strozzi families arrived in the area in the late 1880s, coming here from Italy on the same ship. Most have descendants still living in the area.

The least is known about Giovanni Biavaschi. He built a brick saloon on the Socorro plaza with partner Antonio (Tony) Gianera in the 1890s that is today's Capitol Bar. His "Biavaschi Saloon" was shut down in 1909 for failure to pay property taxes and his liquor license, becoming the property of the city, which sold it to Henry May and leased by Judge Amos Green as a saloon and courtroom. It was converted to a pool hall and speakeasy during Prohibition, reverting to a bar afterwards. It was renamed the "Green Front Saloon" in later years.

Biavaschi shows up again operating a saloon in the coal mining town of Carthage circa 1914, and disappears shortly after that.

I have copies of newspaper accounts and County Clerk property records I can provide to you if interested. Unfortunately, there are no known copies of the local newspaper from 1912-1918, making tracing Biavaschi's whereabouts in this period next to impossible.

I would certainly like to communicate with you so we can fill in each other's missing holes.

oldzeek wrote:homrichrj:I live in Socorro, NM and write monthly history articles for the local newspaper. I have some information on the Biavaschi's. The Biavaschi, Gianera, Bianchi, del Curto, and Strozzi families arrived in the area in the late 1880s, coming here from Italy on the same ship. Most have descendants still living in the area.

The least is known about Giovanni Biavaschi. He built a brick saloon on the Socorro plaza with partner Antonio (Tony) Gianera in the 1890s that is today's Capitol Bar. His "Biavaschi Saloon" was shut down in 1909 for failure to pay property taxes and his liquor license, becoming the property of the city, which sold it to Henry May and leased by Judge Amos Green as a saloon and courtroom. It was converted to a pool hall and speakeasy during Prohibition, reverting to a bar afterwards. It was renamed the "Green Front Saloon" in later years.

Biavaschi shows up again operating a saloon in the coal mining town of Carthage circa 1914, and disappears shortly after that.

I have copies of newspaper accounts and County Clerk property records I can provide to you if interested. Unfortunately, there are no known copies of the local newspaper from 1912-1918, making tracing Biavaschi's whereabouts in this period next to impossible.

I would certainly like to communicate with you so we can fill in each other's missing holes.

I can offer a little more information. Your g-grandfather, Giovanni Biavaschi would have been my grandfather's uncle. He actually sponsored my great uncle, Eugenio Tavasci to come to US in 1901. Uncle Gene actually worked for him in the bar. Later in 1907 another great uncle, Bernardo Tavasci (Uncle Barney) came to Socorro and worked for him as well. My grandfather, Albino Tavasci came to US in 1921 joining his brother's who were both then in Butte, Montana. My Grandfather later came to New Mexico in 1924. I believe he worked for this uncle as well for a time. My grandfather and his brothers were all from Gordona, Italy which is a few miles from Chiavenna. I am quite sure your g-grandfather was from there as well. Three Tavasci brothers married three Biavasci sisters. He would have been a brother to these sisters. I can give you more Tavasci/Biavaschi history if you like. feel free to contact me. The irony of this is I just returned from visiting Italy last week and was just catching up on stuff..